


Conversations with a flower

by sunokasai



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: Chandra is the lovely idiot she has always been, F/F, Fluff, post war of the spark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 09:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18546919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunokasai/pseuds/sunokasai
Summary: The fight with Bolas is over and Ravnica may lay in ruins but is saved, and so is the Multiverse. The remaining Planeswalkers are allowed to take a breath and heal their wounds. For Chandra, this also means having the chance to meet someone again who had been on her mind ever since they parted ways. But things rarely turn out the way she wants them to, and so she finds herself on the rooftop garden, talking with a flower about her feelings.





	Conversations with a flower

It’s not that Chandra isn’t used to nature and it’s beauty, to flowers, plants and trees. Sure, she is from Kaladesh, where beauty is most commonly seen in the intriguing crafts of the Artificers, their shapes and curves. But that doesn’t mean it’s all the plane has to offer. One of her dearest childhood memories, back when life was still uncomplicated and her father alive, was in fact of a day spend in Kaladesh’s long planes. Of her parents laying in the soft grass, right next to each other, smiling and touching even in their sleep. Of herself, young and carefree, running around and chasing invisible beings until she stepped into the cool water of a nearby river. Of how the water felt at her legs and of how the sun shone brightly above. 

No, Chandra is no stranger to the beauty and effect nature can have on people. Even if Keral Keep, high up on it’s mountain on Regatha, seriously lacks some green. 

But one can’t deny that there is a huge difference between enjoying nature once you are outside… and actually living in it. 

Which, arguably, is what a certain elf is doing. 

That Nissa harbours a deep love for nature in all its ways isn’t news to Chandra. She had seen this love on Zendikar, and especially there as the animist fought desperately to save her homeplane. When she had planted those seeds in the middle of that glyph their spell had etched into the earth permanently. Or on Amonkhet, where Nissa had felt the pain of the plane as it got corrupted and destroyed by Bolas and how she had wished for it to be saved as well. 

Yes, Nissa’s love for nature reaches deeper than anything Chandra could ever imagine. 

So it came without a surprise that once they had arrived on Ravnica, Nissa had sought out such places, where she could feel connected to the plane and the nature itself. Though, this is Ravnica and the only places here that would come to mind when Chandra thinks about places fitting the elf… were the Selesnya Sanctum - or what remained of it (and even then Nissa might help rebuild it) - and maybe the wild, untamed turfs of the Gruul.

Arguably, one may consider the end of all things part of nature, too. So technically maybe the Golgari would fit onto the list, but no, Chandra decides to ignore this thought right after she had it. After everything back then on Amonkhet Nissa probably wouldn’t be too thrilled about going there.

But that isn’t the point. The point is that Chandra has ignored another option all along. And when she had literally stepped into it, she had made several steps out right after. As a precaution. See, she always says spontaneous combustion is a myth and that if you combust someone wanted you to. But she is living proof that it is not just a myth and that you, well, can combust accidentally. And being caught by surprise sure enough could cause that accident.

Chandra is used to the garden on the rooftop changing shape nearly every day, of new plants and flowers growing everywhere. Even places Chandra would never thought possible. And especially after it got destroyed during the battles on Ravnica and Nissa had made it her mission to nurture it back to live. If you ask Chandra, Nissa has made it even more beautiful. What she didn’t expect though… was Nissa’s whole room being some sort of paradise as well. Barks, plants, flowers everywhere. If the ceiling would be high enough, Chandra thinks that Nissa might have turned her room into a mini forest. But certainly, the elf has made the best out of what space she has available. 

Chandra doesn’t even dare to step into the room now, afraid she might accidentally step on something precious. And there are a lot of precious things growing in here she realizes as she looks around.   


“Chandra?” 

Called out, Chandra stiffens, back straight like a rod. She had knocked and drawn attention, so of course Nissa would come see who visited her. Chandra just has been so occupied staring at everything that she is caught off guard. Not to mention the nervousness that slips in. This will be the first time they’ll talk outside of a life or death situation ever since Nissa had planeswalked away from Dominaria, leaving the Gatewatch. 

Leaving Chandra.

“Oh uhm… h-hey, Nissa.” And now she is stuttering. Great.    


Nissa on the other hand looks surprised at seeing the pyromancer, endless green eyes slightly wide, as if not expecting her. The again, it’s Nissa, who seemed to just need a connection to a world to be content. “What are you doing here?”

“I ahm… right, what am I…” The combination of mumbling and stuttering doesn’t really help. It only manages to enhance her embarrassment because she can’t even form a sentence. Why is she even so nervous? “I… wanted to know how you are doing. You know, after that battle.”

That is a good enough excuse, right? They just kicked the big bad dragon’s butt and Chandra herself has several bruises and cuts all over her body. And if she remembers correctly she had seen someone taking care of Nissa out of the corner of her eyes before so many people had crowded her.    


“Oh… I am good.” Nissa seems surprised, but steps into view completely from behind the barks and vines. Chandra notices them right away, the bandages covering her right arm.    


They stand there, quite awkwardly, Chandra looking anywhere but directly into Nissa’s face and Nissa looking a little lost, not knowing what she should do now. The last time they had seen each other before this battle with the whole multiverse at stake had been on Dominaria. Right after their defeat and Nissa’s angry departure. Without a goodbye or a look back.   


It feels as if this happened ages ago.

“Do you… wanna come in, maybe?” Nissa offers, sounding as insecure as she looks. It reminds Chandra of times before everything happened on Kaladesh, when all that she was doing seemed to make Nissa uncomfortable. 

And the thought of making Nissa uncomfortable has Chandra anxious again, shaking her head. “N-no. I uhm… just wanted to make sure you are okay and I… probably… I shouldn’t come in because I’d only… ruin the plants. Accidentally burning them, you know? Anyways I… gotta go again. Bye.”   


“Chandra, please wait!” Nissa hurrys to her door, arm outstretched in front of her to catch Chandra, but the pyromancer is already walking down the hallway, quickly and without turning back around. She doesn’t notice Nissa falling against the doorframe with a pained expression and a sigh.

 

* * *

 

The irony of her escaping is that Chandra now finds herself in the garden, among all the flowers and plants that Nissa had encouraged to grow, right after excusing herself by saying she would burn them in her room. She sits cross-legged right in front of a beautiful red flower that she really doesn’t know the name of, like with the other 99% of the things here, her face buried in her hands.

“God, I am such an idiot.” Letting her hands fall back into her lap, Chandra takes a deep breath. The air smells muddy, but also so very sweet and floral. It reminded her of the elf. 

“I stood in front of Bolas, an army of Eternals wanting me dead and was ready to face them head on but the moment I stood in front of Nissa I chickened out.” Chandra grumbles, touching the petals of the flower with her finger and tracing its shape. “I just… don’t want her to feel bad, uncomfortable. Or hurt her, you know?”

Now she is talking to a flower. Yeah, great. This is Nissa’s flower however, so what if she can hear people through them? No, Nissa would not do that. And Chandra isn’t sure it is possible to begin with.

“...I missed her, you know?” She might as well go through with this, Chandra thinks. Jaya had once told her that it was better to talk about problems instead of keeping them locked up. Even if the one she is talking to is a flower, it has to count, right? “Things can get a bit exhausting when you have to deal with Lilliana and Gideon and then have to deal with an interplanar crisis on Ravnica.”

It had felt as if they had become really close, in their time here on Ravnica, especially after the mess on Kaladesh. “I… was kind of scared her quitting the Gatewatch meant she doesn’t wanna see me again. Still am, to be honest.”

She remembers traveling through Dominaria in search of Jaya Ballard, her thoughts drifting back to Nissa and how she had left every so often. It had surprised Chandra a little, that she was affected by it so much. “I was more scared of that than of Bolas, funnily enough. And that guy had kicked our asses badly just hours ago.” 

Chandra laughs a little, on the ridiculousness of it all. Of her past thoughts and of her current situation. And yet, it feels good to say it all aloud. It is kinda freeing, admitting these things to a flower.

Only that it isn’t just a flower that listened to her by now, but also the very topic of Chandra’s conversation with the plant, standing at the entrance to the garden, hidden in the shadows. 

“I wanted to see her again, really. But I also didn’t want her to answer the call for help and for her to come to Ravnica. Why, you may ask? Well… I mean, our chances of winning weren’t exactly the best. And the possibility of dying here was rather high.” Chandra looks down at her hands, her fingers fidgeting with each other and the fabric of her clothes. She looks a bit bashful, really. “That I… didn’t want the worst case scenario happen to her is out of the question, but I also thought about… about the ‘What if it happens?’. And… it kinda felt wrong, for her not to be able to… rest on Zendikar?”

It is difficult to talk about this, because they all were so very close to death, if one thought about it. “But hey, that didn’t happen. Most of us... live, some of us beaten up quite good but it’s over. We can go home.”

She pats herself on the shoulder and regretted it right after as the pain shoots through her body and has her hissing and gritting her teeth. Yeah, she forgot that she is among those who are messed up most. Ajani tried his best to heal most of them as good as possible. But even he ran out of steam at some point. 

“Yeah... “ She settles back in, after the pain subsides, staying silent for a moment. “A Zendikar without Nissa just seems and feels wrong. It’s one of the things I admire about her, to be honest. Her love and her connection to her plane. Her home. I… kind of don’t have that, I think? Sure, I wanted to help Kaladesh, and I did, but the past is still there and hurts? And Keral Keep is just a place on a plane, really. It’s nothing as deep as Nissa’s love for Zendikar.”

A small smile starts to form on Chandra’s lips as she talks about the elf. “Also her determination. When basically everything was in ruins before her, she didn’t give up, not even for a second, determined to rebuild her home once again. Meanwhile, here I am, ready to blow up all of Ghirapur because I had given up. And guess who pulled me out of it.”

It had been incredible how easily Nissa had been able to pull her out and back again. How calm Chandra had felt in general when she had allowed the elf to guide her whenever her mind was in a frenzy once again.

“She is so kind… putting others before herself and tries to help them. I mean, I do too, I think? Now. It’s not always been this way. Like on Kephalai and… yeah, let’s not go there.” Nothing she could ever do would erase that moment of the past that she is fully responsible for.   
  
“When I wondered if we could be friends on Amonkhet, I meant it. I… wanna be friends with her, show her around Ghirapur and all its amazing places. Oh, there is this small café near the consulate that is so good. We could go there. Or just, I dunno, spend an evening here in the garden and just watch the stars I guess? I am sure she’d like that more.”   
  
The thought of such small adventures, time spend together, has Chandra oddly excited. But not in a bad way, or when she is about to head into battle. It is more serene and calming. And in the back of her mind she sees Jaya, smirking at her like she did on Dominaria when she had started to talk about Nissa. Right after she had calmed Multani and Jaya had wondered how she had done that. And Jaya’s words ring in her head loud and clear.   
  
“Urgh, now I owe Jaya money, great.” Chandra groans, burying her face in her hands once more. “She was right, I do sound like a teenager with a huge crush.”

Although in the back of her mind, Chandra knows that it isn’t just a simple crush anymore. “But what can ya do, little flower…” She doesn’t dare to finish that sentence aloud, not even to a flower. It had been one hell of a revelation to herself, that she might actually like Nissa more than-

“What can you do about what?”

For the second time today, Chandra is caught completely off guard. Her whole body stiffens and upon realizing who that soft voice belongs to, her eyes grow wide, her cheeks bloom in a brilliant shade of red and she really, really just wants to combust spontaneously right now.

Of all the people that could have heard her, why has it to be Nissa?

Chandra doesn’t dare to turn around, too afraid of what expression the elf could make. Running isn’t an option, seeing how Nissa is probably at the entrance to the garden. Maybe she can planeswalk away to a far away plane, never to return?   
  
“Chandra?”

Nissa’s voice is so soft and gentle that Chandra feels a giant lump in her throat all of a sudden. Did she run after her earlier? Maybe not. This is her garden, so naturally Nissa might get up here at some point, right? It was stupid to come here of all places.

“H-how much did you hear?” Maybe she is lucky. Maybe Nissa had only heard that very last sentence and all the things Chandra had just admitted would stay between her and the flower.

“I arrived when you said you missed me.” Nissa sounds so genuinely curious and sincere, as if she isn’t faced at all by the things Chandra had just said. Meanwhile Chandra wants to disappear. So Nissa had heard literally everything.

She has to move, get away, set something on fire. So she gets up quickly. Maybe she can just walk past Nissa.    


“I am sorry you… had to hear all that. I am… gonna go now.” She tries to power walk past the elf, head low to hide her face. “Uhm… I hope you get back to Zendikar safely.”   


“Chandra...Chandra no, wait.” Nissa reaches out with her hand, managing to grasp Chandra’s wrist. But she pulls away forcefully and so Nissa only has one option to make her stay. 

With two quick steps forward she is in reach, circling her arms around Chandra from behind. Like back then, on Kaladesh. “Don’t go.”

“But you heard everything I’ve said.” 

“I did.” It is an honest and simple answer, uttered carefully and softly. “I… didn’t know you thought so highly of me. Thank you.” 

Chandra wants to laugh and cry at the ridiculousness of it all. Here they are, Chandra basically admitting that what she feels for Nissa is more than just normal friendship, even if one had to read between the lines. And then there is Nissa, oblivious to that and thanking her. 

“And… for what it’s worth… I did miss you, too.” Chandra is pretty sure that she stops breathing there for a second. “I told you, I didn’t have friends back home, it was only Zendikar and me. But when I got back… the loneliness caught up. I especially missed our meditations.” 

Chandra feels herself being pulled back by gentle arms, and then slowly turned until she faces Nissa. Endless green eyes looked at her gently with just the hint of a smile. Nissa takes Chandra’s hands in her own - she can’t help but wonder how the elf’s hands can be so soft - and guides her back to the centre of the gardens. It’s the place they’d always sit and talk and meditate, Chandra realizes. And Nissa pulls her down with her so they can sit again.

“Chandra, I really have to tell you something.” 

That has the pyromancer anxious. If it wouldn’t be for Nissa’s hands still holding hers she’d fidget, try to get up. But Nissa holds her in place. “I made you uncomfortable, didn’t I? I am sorry.”   
  
“Chandra, that’s not-”   
  
“I can leave you alone if you want me to!”   
  
“Chandra, I-”

“Like, pretend this never happened and-”   
  
“I don’t want to pretend this never happened.”

“I- what?” 

Nissa sighs, closing her eyes. She looks so serene and calm when she does that, and with the deep breath she is taking it is almost as if she wants to dive into the world again and let it take her somewhere far away from here.

“I don’t want to pretend this never happened. Because it… made me too happy. All of it.” For the first time in minutes Chandra is absolutely speechless and can’t do nothing but listen and nod. 

“So, I want to tell you all the good things about you, too. Because I don’t like hearing you talk down on yourself.” She looks up questiongly, not sure about something. “That’s what I should do now, right?”

“I have absolutely no idea to be honest so just do what you think is right?” 

Nissa nods, looking down at their still joint hands. It’s strange, Chandra thinks. Normally Nissa shies away from physical contact and yet she hasn’t let go. Even if there is no need for her to hold Chandra’s hands any longer.

“Sometimes I think I’d like to be a little bit more like you.”   


That has Chandra surprised. “Like me? But why? I am nothing special at all.”

“I think you are.” Nissa nods, lightly squeezing Chandra’s hands. “I may have a gift to connect with worlds but you… you connect with people so easily. You are full of love for your friends and family. I can’t remember when I last called someone a friend before you came along and made me want to be your friend.”

“You wear your heart on your sleeve, your pain and anger, but also your happiness. You are...taking responsibility for what you do. And you are selfless. Remember when we were trapped by Baral?” Chandra nods. “You tried to bargain us out, take all the punishment for just yourself. Wanted to stay behind for Mrs. Pashiri and asked me to get myself to safety. You thought of yourself last.”

Nissa takes a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. “The Chandra I know can find adventure everywhere. She is kind, brave and trusting. She simply follows her heart.” 

“Yeah, clearly you haven’t known me when I was younger…” 

“Does it matter?” Nissa asks with a slight tilt of her head. Before Chandra can respond though, tell her that it does matter because she has done some awful things, Nissa pushes through. “People change. You have changed. And I only know the person sitting in front of me, who is very dear to me. If you regret what you’ve done… doesn’t that mean you have a good heart?”

Chandra feels her cheeks flushed up, her throat and chest tight. Technically, she has heard this so many times already. From Gideon, her mother. But coming from Nissa it somehow means more, helps to lift some of the guilt from her shoulder.

“For someone who once told me she wasn’t good with words you’re doing pretty amazing.” Chandra says, giggling. She tries to blink away some of the wetness in her eyes.

A hint of a smile, and Nissa looks back down at their still joint hands. “I still… try to formulate things carefully. But it’s easier if it’s you I am talking with.”

“So… is friendship still the limit of what you feel comfortable with?” Chandra asks, sounding hopeful. She thinks that she understands what lays behind Nissa’s words. She doesn’t know what to do if she is wrong though.

Nissa stays silent for a moment, seemingly contemplating her answer and formulating it. “Yes.”

“Oh…” Yeah, she shouldn’t have hoped.

“But if it’s you, Chandra, I think I’d like… more than friendship.” The developing red on Nissa’s cheeks stands out in contrast to the green of her tattoos. But her eyes are nothing but honest and sincere as they look up again, locking gazes with Chandra’s own.

“Oh, okay…” It takes a moment for Chandra to fully understand the extend of what Nissa had just said. And Nissa can see her expression switch from disappointment to understandment and then excitement. “I think I’d like that, too! If you… wanna try it?”

Nissa can feel her hands being squeezed gently, a thumb running over her knuckles. A smile appears on her lips, the happiest one she has had in a long time. “I do. And I think you still owe me a tour through Ghirapur.”

“And I will be the best guide you could wish for.” Maybe, Chandra thinks, she should planeswalk ahead and get that sari that Mrs. Pashiri had chosen for her the last time. Just to be sure to look great on her date with Nissa.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Let us all pretend that things work out find for these two at the end of WAR and that Chandra does not suffer from a trauma. So that we can have these two be the fluffy Gruulfriends couple people deserve. Thank you very much.
> 
> 'Conversations with a flower' is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast.  
> ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.


End file.
